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Oregon Legislature

Retired legislator can’t lobby chamber

Gov. Kate Brown changes course: Her new adviser, Peter Buckley, will limit his efforts to outside the Legislature

By Saul Hubbard

The Register-Guard

Appeared in print: Saturday, March 11, 2017, page B3

Peter Buckley

SALEM — In a reversal, Gov. Kate Brown said Friday that she will abide by a legislative attorney’s opinion that her new adviser, recently retired state lawmaker Peter Buckley, cannot lobby his former colleagues.

Legislative Counsel Dexter Johnson wrote this week in an advisory opinion that a 2007 ethics law, which mandates a waiting period before former lawmakers can lobby, would apply to Buckley, who retired in January. That law is intended to diminish the “revolving door” between the Legislature and the lobby that could lead to perceptions of quid pro quo politics.

Buckley, a longtime Democratic budget guru in Salem, took a job on Tuesday as Brown’s senior adviser on transformation and budget stability, focusing on long-term state government cost curbs and potential tax reform. It’s a 20-hour-a-week role with an annual salary of about $65,000.

Brown’s office said Thursday that it had planned to have Buckley potentially lobby lawmakers as they craft the 2017-19 budget during the next few months. That would be in line with general practice in the governor’s office. All advisers register as lobbyists because of their frequent interactions with lawmakers during the session, advocating for the governor’s priorities.

Based on a 2009 Oregon Government Ethics Commission opinion, the governor’s office said it felt the waiting period wouldn’t apply to Buckley.

But, responding to Johnson’s opinion and facing criticism from Republican lawmakers, Brown’s office reversed itself Friday. Buckley now will limit his work to within the executive branch and outside the Capitol, Pair said.

“Peter Buckley is focused on budget stability and transformation for the long term. His expertise and experience with the state budget will be invaluable to addressing this challenge,” Pair said.

“The solutions to Oregon’s institutional issues around government efficiency and revenue generation are found outside the Capitol, in communities and board rooms across the state,” he added.

Brown’s decision came after Senate Republican Leader Ted Ferrioli of John Day called on Buckley to “step aside” from his new role until his waiting period ends after this legislative session.

“Gov. Brown is not a detail person,” Ferrioli said in a prepared statement. “I doubt anyone on her staff advised the governor to vet this hire before the ethics commission.

“Errors are to be expected,” he added. “It’s what comes after that makes a difference.”

Pair said the decision to not have Buckley lobby the Legislature shouldn’t be considered a change in his job responsibilities. The governor’s office had never intended to “necessarily” have Buckley lobby the Legislature, he said, but hoped to have the option available.

Buckley will retain his 20-hour schedule and his previous pay, Pair confirmed.

“We will be seeking a formal interpretation from the ethics commission to clarify this once and for all, but either way it won’t affect Mr. Buckley’s work for us,” he said.

But Preston Mann, a spokesman for the House Republicans, said it appeared Brown’s office was shifting its stance about what Buckley’s job would entail.

“Yesterday, the governor’s office said that if the lobbying ban were found to apply to Mr. Buckley, ‘it would affect his work.’ Today, they are claiming ‘it won’t affect Mr. Buckley’s work.’ Which statement are Oregonians supposed to believe?” he said in a prepared statement.